Hsien-Ko

Hsien-Ko, known as Lei-Lei (レイレイ, Reirei) in Japan, is one of the main heroes that was first introduced in Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge along with her older twin sister, Mei-Ling (Lin-Lin, リンリン, Rin-Rin in Japan). Her character is based off the Chinese hopping vampire, also known as a Jiang Shi (also known as a Kyonshi in Japanese) of Asian myths. She has appeared in many cameos such as Ken's party from the Street Fighter series, and many Capcom and Namco games such as Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (Pocket Fighter), Namco × Capcom, Project × Zone, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3/Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Hsien-Ko was originally voiced by Michiko Neya before being replaced by Saori Hayami in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, while her English voice provider starting from the same game is now Hunter MacKenzie Austin as well. In the Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge OVA, she was voiced by Yūko Miyamura in the original and by Nicole Oliver in the English dub.

Unlike the original game, Hsien-Ko was one of the characters that was conceptualized in Capcom Japan rather than Capcom USA, being created alongside Donovan as characters who would hunt down the other Darkstalkers (leading to Vampire Hunter being the name of the game). During development, Lei-Lei was used as a nickname (coming from the 霊 (rei) character), but retained the name due to the likening of the name.^[2]

Background

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling were twin girls born in a village of Senjutsushis. Both of them were raised to be Senjutsushis as they were taught of its art by their beloved master. They were great girls that people cared about and respected, and even though their personalities were different (Hsien-Ko had a very strong interest in guys and martial arts while her sister was more into weaponry and cooking), the two were close. On the ceremonial night when they were sixteen-year olds who were close to becoming Senjutsushi by their master, their village and people were attacked by a group of supernatural beings known as Darkstalkers. After their master was murdered, their mother gave her life to protect them, but because of this, her soul was trapped in darkness by their powers. To release their mother's soul from the darkness, Hsien-Ko uses the Igyo Tenshin technique to turn into a Jiang-Shi. Mei-Ling, her older sister, turns into a ward to make sure Hsien-Ko doesn't lose control of her darker half that has been building inside her. The two set off to hunt down the Darkstalkers who attacked their people, and help innocent people as a Darkhunter of the night.

After the two had freed their mother's soul from the darkness, the two were reincarnated with the powers of their mother. The two were reborn in a normal family and were raised in happiness. On their 16th birthday, the supernatural powers of the two sisters awoke. These powers had been passed down from the very first member of the Shao family that came across the realm of Makai. This was their mother's way of repaying her daughters for saving her soul. However, Jedah Dohma had been watching them from the realm of Makai, and deemed them as worthy souls for his own plans of controlling the human realm.

The two dreamed again on the night their powers awoke. It was a nightmare which was caused by Jedah's summoning. In the nightmare, their souls were instantly transferred to Majigen. This place was where the Senjutsushis and the Darkstalkers battled. It was Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling's homeland. Their leftover bodies had no soul in them anymore. They lay there side by side with no sign of life.

When they awoke, the two of them had no memory of their previous battle. They didn't know why they were in Majigen. But they both felt strongly that they must win the battle to return to the human realm. To them, it was like watching a bad nightmare.

Their form in Majigen was the form which is best suited for the realm. It is the same form they took when Pyron came to Earth. This was due to their mother lending them some power. Though the two of them had experience as Darkhunters, they were now just normal humans. To survive in the world where supernatural beings travel, they needed the supernatural power of Senjutsu. With help from their mother, they could use various arts without any thought. However, the moment the two sisters lose their trust in each other, their powers would weaken and Hsien-Ko would lose herself into darkness.

After the events of Vampire Savior, their souls are once again consumed by the darkness, but their mother's soul saved them once again. The two sisters returned to the human world and went back to their lives again.

Personality

Hsien-Ko is a respectful and honorable person who opposes supernatural evil. She admires men who strive to better themselves and help others, which explains her initial aversion to Lord Raptor. Over time, however, she begins to see his true personality, and some versions of her story hint at a tsundere-like attraction that is occasionally mutual.

She values family and friendships deeply and disdains those who forsake their humanity for power. Despite her kind nature, Hsien-Ko harbors a personal grudge against demons and those who harm innocents. She also fears losing herself to the evil influence of her own nature as a Jiang Shi.

In lighter moments, Hsien-Ko's clumsiness often shows—she may accidentally drop weapons or unintentionally bonk others with her oversized gadgets.

Her sister Mei-Ling, the elder of the two, is kind, humble, and witty. Like their mother, she excels in weaponry and respects those who are true to themselves rather than conforming to others' expectations.

Powers and Abilities

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling possess numerous supernatural abilities, including seeing souls and other supernatural entities, flying, blending their skin color with their surroundings, teleportation, and traveling in daylight. They can also manipulate time and space.

Hsien-Ko's powers include glowing yellow eyes when activating her abilities, transforming her nails into claws, and exceptional hand-to-hand combat skills. She wields a variety of weapons such as kunai, knives, saw blades, spiked balls, shurikens, and axes with expertise.

Mei-Ling can transform into a talisman and is proficient in combat and weaponry, using swords, boomerangs, bombs, chains, and even bonsai plants as tools in battle.

In Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (Pocket Fighter in Japan), Hsien-Ko retains her moves and utilizes five different disguises to execute her Mighty Combo, including a Chinese waitress, performer, timekeeper, warrior with a bo staff, and a gourmet chef.

Weakness

Hsien-Ko is vulnerable to losing control if she tastes blood, causing her personality to negatively amplify to the point of insanity.

About the Jiang Shi

Main article: Jiang Shi

The Jiang Shi (Geong Si, Kyonshi, or Kuang Shi) are Asian mythological vampires, created through demonic possession. Unlike Western vampires, they are mindless, physical corpses closer to Haitian zombies. As their power grows, they gain abilities, including flight.

Historically, they were tied to Taoist rituals used to return the dead to their ancestral villages in rural China, often led by priests using spells written on red paper. Modern depictions, particularly in films, exaggerate their role as minions of evil priests, deviating from traditional accounts. Jiang Shis remain a significant part of Asian folklore.

Appearances

Darkstalkers 3 Hsien-Ko Sketch — *Darkstalkers 3* artwork

In Japanese only games

Lei-Lei Magical Hammer — *Lei-Lei's Magical Hammer*

Namco × Capcom
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters 2
SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS
Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (Pocket Fighter)
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
Lei-Lei's Magical Hammer (cellphone game)
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Mei-Ling as a DLC costume)
Line Drop Spirit Catcher (mobile game)
Onimusha Soul (browser game)
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Project × Zone
Project × Zone 2

Street Fighter Alpha 2, Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling both appear in human form next to Lord Raptor on Ken Masters' stage.

Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, Hsien-Ko appears on the Shanghai stage.

Capcom Fighting Evolution, she appears in Pyron's ending.

Hsien-Ko (Human Form) (OVA) — Hsien-Ko in the *Darkstalkers* anime

Hsien-Ko appears in the Darkstalkers animated series in the episodes "Ghost Hunter" and "Darkest Before Dawn". Unlike her video game counter part, in the cartoon series Hsien-Ko no longer has blue skin but instead has normal flesh. To tie her storyline with the remaining cast, Hsien-Ko's family was killed by Demitri and turns into a Chinese vampire after meeting the Lady of Mercy.

In the Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge OVA, Hsien-Ko first appears along side her sister in the second story, Blood of the Darkstalkers, Power of the Darkstalkers. In Udon's Darkstalkers series, she makes a cameo in the mini for issue one and later another small appearance in the second series, issue one.

Street Fighter VS. Darkstalkers

Trivia

Hsien-Ko is known for the following distinctions:
- She is the only character in the series to transform into more than one person when hit by Demitri's "Midnight Bliss".
- She is one of the few characters who can break the forth wall in Capcom media, alongside Anakaris.
- She is the only character in the series whose body breaks up into three parts when killed by being sliced; her arms break off along with her torso.
Hsien-Ko's name in Chinese is, 仙姑 (xiāngū). Her name derives from the xian that is among the pantheon of the Eight Immortals of Chinese mythos, 何仙姑 (hé xiāngū). 少 (shǎo) is her and Mei-Ling's family name, according to information revealed in Pocket fighter. Given this information, their actual names (using Chinese naming convention) are Shao Hsien-Ko and Shao Mei-Ling (and in the Japanese version, Shao Lei-Lei and Shao Lin-Lin).
The Chinese characters on the talisman read: 勅令陏身保命 (proper Chinese: 敕令隨身保命) Chìlìng: Suíshēn-Bǎomìng "Imperial Edict: Personal Survival".
Hsien-Ko was planned to be in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes as a playable character, but was dropped.^[3]
Lord Raptor has romantic feelings for Hsien-Ko due to him being a fellow supernatural being, as demonstrated by his special intro towards her, but she is very annoyed by him. In Namco × Capcom, Raptor constantly attempts to go on a date with her, but she wants nothing to do with him. She also mentions her annoyance of Raptor in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, saying her opponent was annoying, but not nearly as annoying as Lord Raptor.
- If playing as Lord Raptor in Vampire Savior, Hsien-Ko will be his secret challenger, and based on the quotes, she is at least cordial, until she finds out his fixation on her.
- In the Vampire Savior manga however, she does have feelings for him but has no interest in admitting it to him. This could imply that she is a tsundere type character.
  - In the same manga Hsien-ko is rescued by Lord Raptor from Victor (and later he rescues her from Rikuo).
- Lord Raptor and Hsien-ko make a cameo as human figures in Street Fighter Alpha 2 (along with some other Darkstalkers characters). Lord Raptor is seen playing his guitar while Hsien-ko watches him, however she first looks around to see if anyone is watching her before doing so. This could also imply that she is shy.
- In Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Hsien-ko uses Lord Raptor's chainsaw instead of her own, he is also seen watching her in the background of her stage within the bushes and his eyes are shaped like hearts. If she wins the stage his heart-shaped eyes start to beat. This could hint that Hsien-ko is at least allies with Lord Raptor or have some sort of positive relationship at some point.
Hsien-Ko's hammerspace sleeves filled with nigh infinite amounts of weaponry to throw (and even chained weapons) is similar in design and functionality to Mousse, a character from Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma ½ series. While it may be implied some of her character design and fighting style (and to an extent, even nationality) was inspired in part or wholly from Mousse, Hsien-Ko herself became an apparent inspiration to some future character design.
- Xiao Lon from KOF Maximum Impact Regulation "A" also seems inspired by Hsien-Ko in terms of appearance and especially fighting style.
- Taokaka from the BlazBlue series may also be a reference, having large sleeves with metal claws and saws in them; her personality is possibly inspired by Felicia as well.
Despite B.B. Hood often being incorrectly cited as the inspiration for Peacock from Skullgirls, due to their unintentional similarities, it was actually Hsien-Ko who served as the main inspiration for Peacock’s character, aside from her theme of rubber hose cartoons. Alex Ahad, the creator of the Skullgirls series, initially envisioned Peacock as a more mentally ill and chaotic version of Hsien-Ko and was inspired by both her design and move set. Peacock was also originally a grown woman with a taller and creepier design in early lore before the game and in concept art until gradually gaining a cuter design and being aged down into a child at some point, a bit of a contrast to Hsien-Ko having some early younger designs or different ages until she was settled on as being older. So Peacock and B.B. Hood both being “cute and psycho” children was very unintentional. Peacock also has a color palette that references her.
Hsien-Ko was announced in Project × Zone along with fellow Capcom character Frank West, who is ironically a man who fights zombies.
- The two appears together as well in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, with humorous jabs against one another in winquotes.
Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling are mostly likely fraternal twins, as neither of them look similar (Hsien-Ko has spiky purple hair, and Mei-Ling has straight brown hair).
- In the Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge anime it is shown that they have the same dark brown hair color but Mei-Ling's hair is longer.
Hsien-Ko has had the same voice actress in nearly all of her video games appearances up to Namco × Capcom: Michiko Neya (the exception being Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, where Kae Araki took over). As of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, she is now voiced by Saori Hayami.
- In Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire, Mei-Ling is also voiced by Michiko Neya via reverb and in Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (Pocket Fighter) using an unregulated voice. Despite this she is voiced by actresses different from those of Hsien-Ko in all other appearances in Japanese media as well as all English appearances.
In the Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge OVA, Hsien-Ko's design looks like Chun-Li from the Street Fighter series in her human form, this is due to the characters being drawn by the same artist.
- Furthering this resemblance is the fact that her Japanese OVA voice, Yūko Miyamura, voiced Chun-Li in most of her video game appearances in the mid-to-late '90s.
In her appearances where she has a voice in English, she was been voiced by Nicole Oliver in the Night Warriors OVA. Whereas in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 onwards, she is voiced by Hunter MacKenzie Austin.
Her first appearances in both Namco × Capcom and Project × Zone have several things in common. She first appears in the fifth prologue chapter of the game. Both levels take place on a boat. She meets the representatives of Resident Evil in this stage. Also, she is called by Lord Raptor who greets her with the words "My sweetheart! Hsien-Kohhhh (Lei-Lei-chan)!!" in both games.
In Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and its remake, most of the English-speaking actors, including the announcer, cannot properly pronounce her name, instead saying it as "shin-ko", "sen-ko", "sheng-ko", and "hee-sen-ko". The correct way is in fact "syen-ko", as heard in Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix.
According to concept art, Hsien-Ko's many weapons are stored in carrying devices she holds onto, while her claw weapons are chained directly to her scapulas. When electrocuted, her sprites will show her chains coming from the back area. However, nothing seems to exist aside from this to show that these concepts made it into the finished game, with more evidence pointing against it, as even the aforementioned sprite shows no carrying devices and doesn't make it clear whether the chains connect directly to her.
Unlike Anita, whose Japanese name became her de-facto English name (from Amanda), her sister's English name varied. Pre-Vampire Savior, it was Mei-Ling, until the game used the Japanese name for her sister, Lin-Lin. As of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, her sister's name is once again Mei-Ling, and she even calls her Mei as a nickname.
The Chinese characters on the blades that appear during her Chireitou move read: 勅令昇龍剣 Chìlìng: Shēnglóngjiàn "Imperial Edict: Rising Dragon Sword". By coincidence, 昇龍剣 is pronounced in Japanese as Shōryūken, exactly the same as the "Rising-Dragon-Fist" of the Street Fighter franchise (although 昇龍拳 would be pronounced in Chinese as Shēnglóngquán).
The dress Hsien-Ko wears is called a Cheongsam (長衫, lit. Long garment) or Qipao (旗袍, lit. Banner dress), a dress derived from traditional Manchu clothing. It grew in popularity during the 1920s, centrally amongst high society women in Shanghai.
Hsien-Ko's characterization in Vampire Savior takes place after the events of her story mode in Vampire Hunter/Night Warriors but this would be contradictory to the rest of the plot of the series since only Demitri's fight against Pyron was canon in that game and Hsien-Ko being reborn is meant to be her reward after defeating all the Darkstalkers including Pyron. The reason why they went with this story and characterization is unexplained, but it is possible the team had no idea what to do with Hsien-Ko's character but wanted her to still be playable, so they just went with whatever character interpretation was available.